Charles E. King v. DOUGLAS A. COLLINS, Secretary of Veterans Af- fairs

25-1660Court of Appeals for the Federal CircuitJul 17, 2025

Full text

NOTE: This order is nonprecedential.
United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
CHARLES E. KING,
Claimant-Appellant
v.
DOUGLAS A. COLLINS, Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs,
Respondent-Appellee
______________________
2025-1660
______________________
Appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for
Veterans Claims in No. 20-859, Judge Amanda L. Mere-
dith.
______________________
Before TARANTO, CUNNINGHAM, and STARK, Circuit
Judges.
PER CURIAM.
O R D E R
On March 24, 2025, Charles E. King filed a notice of
appeal from the April 2021 judgment of the United States
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Because the appeal
appeared untimely, we directed the parties to address our
jurisdiction. Mr. King argues dismissal would be unfair
Case: 25-1660 Document: 10 Page: 1 Filed: 07/17/2025

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KING v. COLLINS 2
because he did not receive the decision until recently. The
Secretary of Veterans Affairs has not responded.
The timely filing of a notice of appeal seeking this
court’s review of a decision of the Court of Appeals for Vet-
erans Claims is a jurisdictional requirement that is not
subject to equitable exceptions. See Wagner v. Shinseki,
733 F.3d 1343, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (citing Henderson v.
Shinseki, 562 U.S. 428, 438–39 (2011)); see also Bowles v.
Russell, 551 U.S. 205, 213 (2007) (noting courts have “no
authority to create equitable exceptions to jurisdictional re-
quirements”). A notice of appeal must be filed within 60
days of entry of judgment. See 38 U.S.C. § 7292(a); 28
U.S.C. § 2107(b); Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(B); Fed. Cir.
R. 1(a)(1)(D). Here, Mr. King’s notice of appeal is untimely
because it was filed nearly four years after judgment.
Although we are sympathetic to Mr. King’s argument
that he did not receive notice of the decision until recently,
there is no basis to extend the time for him to file an appeal.
To the extent it even applies here, Congress only permits
courts to extend the time to appeal under similar circum-
stances “upon motion filed within 180 days after entry of
the judgment . . . or within 14 days after receipt of . . . no-
tice [of the judgment], whichever is earlier,” § 2107(c); see
Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(6)(B); Fed. R. Civ. P. 77(d)(2). Mr. King
appears to have made no filing within this time limit, and
we are not aware of any other authority that could excuse
the untimeliness of his appeal. Cf. 2005 Advisory Commit-
tee Notes to Fed. R. App. P. 4 (“[A]n appeal cannot be
brought more than 180 days after entry [of the judgment],
no matter what the circumstances.”).
Accordingly,
Case: 25-1660 Document: 10 Page: 2 Filed: 07/17/2025

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KING v. MCDONOUGH 3
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) The appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
(2) Each party shall bear its own costs.
July 17, 2025
Date
FOR THE COURT
Case: 25-1660 Document: 10 Page: 3 Filed: 07/17/2025

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